The Wizard (1989)

A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross country with the help of a girl they meet to compete in the ultimate video game championship.

Director:

Todd Holland

Writer:

David Chisholm

Stars:

Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, Jenny Lewis

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Edwards	...	Jimmy Woods / The Wizard
Vince Trankina	...	Tate (as Vincent Leahr)
Wendy Phillips	...	Christine Bateman
Dea McAllister	...	Counselor
Sam McMurray	...	Bateman
Beau Bridges	...	Sam Woods
Fred Savage	...	Corey Woods
Christian Slater	...	Nick Woods
Will Seltzer	...	Putnam
Roy Conrad	...	Bus Clerk
Jenny Lewis	...	Haley
Roderick Dexter	...	Trucker #1 / Wrecking Yard Man
Ray Bickel	...	Trucker #2
Chuck Skinner	...	Grease Monkey
W.K. Cowan	...	Salesman #1

Storyline

Corey and Jimmy Woods are two brothers who are being separated due to their parents divorcing. Jimmy is a mentally unstable kid that has had problems ever since his sister died at a young age. One day, Corey discovers that Jimmy has a natural talent for playing video games. He is one of the best around, and the two journey to the West Coast to compete in a video game championship, but along the way, they must avoid the adults, who are trying to take Jimmy away.

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Plot Keywords:

nintendo | girl | 1980s | kiss | hitchhiking | 

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Taglines:

It's more than a game... It's the chance of a lifetime.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Brazil

Language:

English Brazilian Sign Language

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vidéokid

Filming Locations:

Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,278,900

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions,Pipeline Productions,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jimmy's "disease" is never diagnosed, but it's believed to be autism, which was starting to grow in prevalence around the time of the movie's release.

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Goofs

When Nick is playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the hotel room the weapon sound being heard is used for Raphael but the on the TV it shows that he's playing as Leonardo.

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Quotes

Putnam: I want all of your driver's license numbers! Every one of ya! I want your driver's license numbers!
Spankey: So you touched her breast, huh?
Putnam: Oh, my God! All right! All right! Let's not lose our tempers. It's very hot...
[silenced by a punch from Spankey]

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Connections

Featured in Nostalgia Critic: AVGN Wizard Rant (2008)

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Soundtracks

Don't Be Cruel
Written by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, L.A. Reid (as Antonio "L.A." Reid) and Daryl Simmons
by Bobby Brown

User Reviews

This Movie is A Cult Classic.

This Movie is a Cult Classic because it introduced video game junkies to one of the greatest games ever made "Super Mario 3". It also showed the world how much Nintendo would do to edge the competition on the video game market. By exploting ever game they made, introducing us to the POWER GLOVE(piece of Junk), NINTENDO Game Hotline(Thank God for the Internet) and Super Mario 3. I love this movie and so does ever video game lovin geek with a computer I know.